Why the French fleet changes the Allied balance

This counterfactual begins with the French Navy remaining on the Allied side after France falls. The fleet is more than a list of hulls because it connects France to overseas bases and helps sustain the French Empire. In the 1939 deployment survey, Dunkerque, Strasbourg, Béarn, Georges Leygues, Montcalm, and Gloire anchor an Atlantic force at Brest. Toulon contributes Algérie, Dupleix, Colbert, De Grasse, Tourville, and other cruisers for the Mediterranean. Capital ships, cruisers, torpilleurs d’escadre, and contre-torpilleurs form balanced task groups rather than isolated reinforcements. In scale and capability, the fleet is broadly comparable to Italy's Regia Marina, so its continued Allied service largely offsets Italian naval strength and changes Royal Navy calculations. France's fall remains a major strategic loss. At sea, however, it is less decisive, while Anglo-French planning had failed to prepare either ally for the other's collapse.